OXFORD, Ohio – The No. 6 University of Denver hockey team heads out to play the Miami RedHawks this weekend in the Pioneers' only two road games in a seven-game stretch.
Both contests from Goggin Ice Center will be played earlier in the day, with Friday's game starting at 3:30 p.m. MT and Saturday's outing beginning at 4 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcast on NCHC.tv, with the radio broadcast available on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3.
Denver is 4-2-1 in its last seven outings and sports an 8-4-1 record in the past 13 games. The team is coming off a weekend split at home against then-No. 17 North Dakota, recording a 4-0 shutout on Friday before falling 3-1 in the series finale against the Fighting Hawks on Saturday.
DU goaltenders Matt Davis and Freddie Halyk posted the first combined team shutout in the last decade in Friday's victory before UND scored a short-handed goal on Saturday night for insurance on the scoreboard en route to a win over the Pios. Denver went 3-1-0 in the season series against its rivals from Grand Forks this year.
The Pioneers are battling to secure a home-ice position for the NCHC Quarterfinals that begin in four weeks' time, as they are presently in fifth place in the conference standings with 30 points and a 10-7-1 league record. DU is one point behind North Dakota and trails third-place Omaha by eight points, with the Pios owning two games in hand over the Mavericks.
Miami is ninth place in the NCHC standings and will miss the conference tournament as it has two points and a 0-18-0 mark in league play. The RedHawks have lost 20 games in a row but have played in three overtime contests during that stretch, including last week at Colorado College. MU fell 6-1 on Friday and 5-4 in OT on Saturday at CC.
Denver and Miami are wrapping up their four-game regular season series after the teams met last month at Magness Arena. The Pioneers won 4-1 and 6-2 on Jan. 10-11 and are unbeaten in their past 16 matchups against the RedHawks (15-0-1). DU has a 35-13-4 all-time record versus MU.
Due to the NCHC scheduling matrix and the Pioneers hosting the RedHawks in the 2023 NCHC Quarterfinals, each of the past eight games of the series have come in the Mile High City. Denver will be making its first trip to Oxford since Oct. 28-29, 2022 and owns a 12-5-0 record on the road versus Miami.
This weekend also marks the final two-game road series of the regular season for the Pioneers and their penultimate away contest of the year. DU begins a three-game homestand next week against St. Cloud State on Feb. 28-March 1 before a home-and-home series versus Colorado College to close the 2024-25 main campaign on March 7-8.
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers split their weekend series against then-No. 17 North Dakota, winning 4-0 on Friday before falling 3-1 on Saturday. Boston Buckberger led DU with three points (1g/2a), Jack Devine recorded his first multi-goal game of the season and Kieran Cebrian tallied his first game-winner in Friday's victory. Denver netminders Matt Davis and Freddie Halyk combined for a team shutout after Halyk entered the contest in relief in the third period due to a lower-body injury to Davis.
Carter King scored on the power play off assists from Zeev Buium and Aidan Thompson on Saturday night, and Halyk stopped 20 shots in his third start of the season. UND netted a power-play goal late in the second to take a 2-1 lead entering the intermission before Dylan James scored shorthanded a minute into the third period to give the Fighting Hawks some cushion on the scoreboard. The Pioneers finished with a 35-23 edge in shots, including holding 28-10 margin in the final two periods of play. NoDak goalie T.J. Semptimphelter made 34 saves.
MAJOR MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON: Senior Carter King and junior Aidan Thompson are each on the edge of reaching the century mark in scoring as both forwards own 99 career points.
Denver has had 103 previous players reach the 100 career points, with Jack Devine being the last to do so on March 8, 2024 at Colorado College.
Devine is approaching another milestone as well, as he is two points away from 150 in his career. He is also five assists away from 100 in his time at Denver.
BUCKING THE TREND: Defenseman Boston Buckberger had one goal and two assists on Friday night vs. North Dakota to tie a career high with three points. His previous three-point game came on Feb. 24, 2024 vs. Miami when he contributed a trio of assists.
Buckberger was the third DU defenseman to record three points in a game this year, joining Zeev Buium (four times) and Eric Pohlkamp (twice).
The sophomore owns five multi-point outings this season and 11 in his career. He has recorded seven points in the last six games, totaling three goals and four assists, and his six goals this season have already surpassed his total from his freshman campaign a year ago (five).
NOTABLES
- Denver played its 20th game on Valentine's Day in program history last Friday and improved to 12-6-2 all-time on the date. DU was facing UND for the fifth time on Feb. 14 and is now 2-2-1 all-time on V-Day against the Fighting Hawks program.
- Denver's 4-0 shutout on Friday was its second of the season (Nov. 1 vs. Yale) and its first against North Dakota since winning 2-0 in Game 1 of the NCHC Quarterfinals on March 3, 2019.
- DU goaltender Matt Davis (15 saves) and Freddie Halyk (six saves) combined for the shutout victory on Friday night for the first team shutout for the Pioneers in the last 10 years (since 2015-16).
- Jack Devine recorded his first multi-goal game of the season on Friday and the 12th of his career.
- Kieran Cebrian scored his first career game-winning goal on Friday to become the sixth different Pioneer to record his first game-winner this season.
- Sam Harris's three-game goal streak ended on Friday and eight-game point streak (7g/4a) was stopped on Saturday.
- Harris fired a personal-best seven shots on goal on Saturday, while Boston Buckberger tied a career high with four shots on goal in the game (seventh time)
- Denver's 82 penalty minutes on Saturday were a season while North Dakota's 72 were the most by an opponent in DU game this year. The combined 156 penalty minutes were also the most this season in a Denver contest.
- Zeev Buium (12), Jack Devine (12), Sam Harris (16), Carter King (12) and Eric Pohlkamp (12) all recorded career highs for penalty minutes in a single game. Harris' 16 PIM were the most in a game this season by a Pioneer.
- Zeev Buium will miss his first game on Friday as a Pioneer not due to playing at the World Junior Championships after being suspended one game by the NCHC for an altercation at the end of Saturday's contest against North Dakota.
- Goaltender Freddie Halyk made his third start of the season on Saturday and stopped 20 shots, while Matt Davis and defenseman Alec Whipple served as backup netminders in the game.
- Jared Wright's next point is his 50th of his career, while Matt Davis' next victory will be his 55th of his career and will tie Adam Berkhoel for 10th place on the school's all-time wins list.
DEVINE CLIMBING DU'S SCORING LISTS: Senior forward
Jack Devine owns 147 points (52 goals, 95 assists) in 148 career games and ranks tied for 23rd on the school's all-time scoring list with
Antti Laaksonen (1993-97) and
Jim Leavins (1980-84). He three points away from tying for the top 20 with
Connor James (2000-04) and
Jay Moore (1987-91). Devine became the 103rd Pioneer to reach 100 career points after scoring in his 109th contest on March 8, 2024 at Colorado College.
The Glencoe, Illinois, native is five assists from 100 where he'll be the 12th player DU history to reach the century mark in helpers. If Devine reaches 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points in his career, he will become just the 10th player in Denver 50-100-150 club and the first since
Dave Shields from 1986-1990.
Devine scored his 50th career goal on Feb. 1 against Omaha to become the 61st player in school history to reach the half-century mark. Devine's former teammate
Cole Guttman was the last Pioneer to tally 50 career goals on Feb. 11, 2022 against Minnesota Duluth.
SAMMY SCORING: Sophomore
Sam Harris leads the Pioneers with 19 goals this season, ranking tied for sixth overall in the NCAA. His nine power-play markers are also first on the team and is tied for the top spot in nation.
Harris ranks fourth in the country with six game-winning goal, and he is one game-winner away from joining a five-way tie for fourth place in the program record book for the most in a single season. Three of Harris' game-winners came in consecutive games: Nov. 8-9 vs. Lindenwood and Nov. 15 at North Dakota—the first time that a Pioneer has notched the winning tally in three consecutive outings in the last four years (since 2021-22).
The San Diego, California, native recorded his second eight-game point streak of the season from Jan. 11-Feb. 14 (7g/4a), which also marked the longest consecutive games point stretch of his career as he missed one game due to injury (Nov. 2 at Yale) in the middle of his career-long nine-game run earlier this season from Oct. 18-Nov. 16 (8g/6a).
Harris scored three goals on Feb. 8 at Arizona State for his first career hat trick and the second by a Pioneer this season, as
Zeev Buium also did it on Nov. 15 at North Dakota. It was also Harris' first career three-point contest, and his three markers came in a matter of 27:43 for the fastest three goals scored by a Pioneer since
Tristan Broz tallied a trio in 6:57 on Jan. 14, 2023 vs. Miami.
RICHTER AWARD SEMIFINALIST: Denver's
Matt Davis is one of 10 goaltenders in the nation and among three in the NCHC that were named last Thursday as semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, given to the nation's top D-I netminder. A panel of voters from across the hockey community that includes coaches, members of the national media, professional scouts and representatives of USA Hockey selected the 10 semifinalists.
The Hockey Commissioners Association will announce three finalists in early March and the winner will be announced during this year's Frozen Four in St. Louis. DU has had one previous recipient of the Mike Richter Award:
Tanner Jaillet (2017).
HISTORY VS. MIAMI: Denver and Miami wrap up the four-game season series after the Pioneers swept the set at DU on Jan. 10-11 by winning 4-1 and 6-2. Due to the NCHC's scheduling matrix and DU hosting Miami in the 2023 quarterfinals, each of the last eight games of the series have come in the Mile High City. The Pioneers will be making their first visit to Oxford since Oct. 28-29, 2022. Denver leads the all-time series with a 35-13-4 record and is unbeaten in the last 16 meetings with Miami (15-0-1). The Pioneers had their series-record 12-game winning streak come to an end in the first game of last year's lone series with the RedHawks, as the teams tied 3-3 on Feb. 23, 2024—though DU did win the shootout to earn the extra conference point. The Pios responded the next night by winning 8-1, with the only goal allowed coming off their own stick during a delayed penalty. Denver swept Miami in two games in both the 2022 and 2023 NCHC Quarterfinal series. The RedHawks' last victory over the Pios was a 3-0 win on Dec. 19, 2020 in the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Nebraska. The Pioneers are 21-1-1 in the last 23 matchups and are 26-3-4 in the series since Jan. 30, 2016. Denver has a 12-5-0 record in Oxford against the RedHawks. At home, DU has a 20-5-4 record in the series that dates back to Nov. 14, 1986. The Pios are unbeaten in the past 15 contests at Magness Arena against MU, as their last loss at home in the series was Feb. 22, 2019 (3-1).
PREVIOUS MEETING (JAN. 11, 2025): The No. 6 University of Denver hockey team swept its weekend series against the Miami RedHawks as 12 different Pioneers recorded at least a point in a 6-2 win on Saturday night at Magness Arena. Senior
Jack Devine and junior
Aidan Thompson each had two points apiece with a goal and an assist, and senior captain
Carter King also had a multi-point night with two helpers. Sophomores
Sam Harris,
Eric Pohlkamp and
Kieran Cebrian also put the puck into the MU net. Goaltender
Matt Davis made 10 saves as DU only allowed 12 shots against. The senior earned his 50th career victory with Denver, becoming the 13th netminder to reach the half-century mark in the program's history.
CONNECTIONS: Tory Pitner played junior hockey in Ohio with the USHL Youngstown Phantoms from 2022-2024 ... Denver's
Kent Anderson, Matt Davis, Carter King and
Rieger Lorenz and Miami's Brayden Morrison are all from Calgary, Alberta …
Hagen Burrows and Blake Mesenburg are from the same hometown in Minnesota (Orono) … Miami head coach Anthony Noreen was previously in the same role at the USHL Tri-City Storm and coached Denver's
Kieran Cebrian from 2020-23 and
Cale Ashcroft from 2022-23 …
Cebrian was a teammate of Nick Donato and Conner Hutchinson during the 2020-21 season at Tri-City … Michael Quinn played part of the 2021-22 campaign with the
Sam Harris on the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede and won the Clark Cup Championship last season with DU's
Jake Fisher while a member of the USHL Fargo Force …
Connor Caponi played with John Waldron with the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2019-20 …
Eric Pohlkamp skated for two seasons on the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with Bruno Bruveris from 2021-2023 … Denver's
Paxton Geisel played on USHL Dubuque with Zane Demsey, Michael Feenstra and William Hallen in 2021-22 and with Brayden Morrison in 2022-23 … Colby Ambrosio was a 2020 NHL Draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche and previously played at Boston College.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami is ninth in the NCHC with two points and an 0-18-0 record. Overall, the RedHawks have a 3-23-2 record and has dropped each of their last 20 contests, though they have also played in three overtime contests. Miami lost both games last weekend at then-No. 19 Colorado College, losing 6-1 on Friday before falling 5-4 in overtime on Saturday. MU began the year 2-0-2, with a pair of ties at Ferris State on Oct. 4-5 and a sweep of Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 11-12. Grad-transfer Colby Ambrosio is first on the team with 17 points and is tied for first with 12 assists. Johnny Waldron also has 12 assists and ranks second behind Ambrosio with 16 points. Four RedHawks players are tied for first on the squad in goals as Ambrosio, Matt Choupani, Ryan Sullivan and Casper Nassen all have five points. The team has split its goaltenders fairly evenly, with Bruno Bruveris starting 13 of the outings and owning a 2-11-1 record, 4.17 goals-against average and .864 save percentage. Netminder Ethan Dahlmeir has a 1-8-1 mark, 3.94 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in 11 starts.
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 6 in the USCHO.com poll and is No. 7 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live rankings that were both released on Monday. DU is presently No. 10 in the Pairwise computer rankings.
The NCHC has the second-most teams ranked in the USCHO.com poll with five and has four teams in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live list. Joining DU is Western Michigan at No. 3/3, Arizona State at No. 12.12, North Dakota at No. 17/18 and Colorado College at No. 20/RV. Omaha also received votes in each poll.
STREAKING:
DOMINANT AT THE DOT: The Pioneers rank fourth in the nation by winning 55.1 percent of their faceoffs this season. They posted a season-high winning percentage of .656 on Jan. 10 against Miami (42/64).
Carter King leads Denver in faceoff wins (370) while Samu Salminen paces the Pios with a .581 winning percentage (223/384); King is second in percentage (.566). Kieran Cebrian ranks second on the squad in draw victories (266/480) and third in percentage (.554). King set a personal best by winning 20-of-34 faceoffs on Oct. 19 against Northeastern for the most wins by a Pioneer since Tyson McLellan went 23-for-35 on Jan. 4, 2020 against Massachusetts.
PIONEERING OFFENSE: Denver leads the NCAA in scoring at 4.0 goals per game and its 119 total goals scored rank second behind the 125 of Minnesota (3.9 average), which has played two more games. The Pios led the NCAA last season with 202 total goals and a 4.59 average.
DU scored at least four goals in each of the first 11 contests and has 18 such games overall this season. The Pioneers have had 15 different players score this year and 20 of the 22 skaters have registered at least one point. Denver also already has 13 skaters that have reached double-digits in points.
PLAYING AHEAD: The Pioneers have had the lead or have been tied for most of the season, as they've not trailed in 82.7% of game play this season (1498:22/1812:54)—leading for 43.8% (794:57) or being tied for 38.8% (703:25) of the time.
DU has only been down on the scoreboard in 17.4% of game play this season (314:32) and didn't trail for the first 244:12 of the season (4+ games).
PIOS POWER UP: Denver ranks second in the nation in the power play with a 30.8-percent success rate and has tallied on the power play in 21-of-30 games this year. The Pioneers have recorded multiple man-advantage goals in eight outings this year, and the team scored at least one power-play goal during an 11-game stretch from Oct. 19-Nov. 23—the team's longest run in the last decade (since 2015-16).
Jack Devine is first on the team with 21 power-play points (2g/19a), while Sam Harris leads the squad and is tied for first in the country with nine man-advantage goals.
The Pios opened the season by going 4-for-9 on the PP on opening night at Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 5—the most power-play goals scored in a game by the squad since Dec. 4, 2021 at Arizona State (4-of-6). Five of Devine's six assists in Alaska on Oct. 5-6 came while DU was a man-up on the ice, while all four of Zeev Buium's assists in that series came on power-play goals.
POHLKAMP PICKING UP POINTS: Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp owns 13 points (3g/10a) in his last 13 games and ranks second among team defensemen in scoring with 26 points. He also leads all Denver D-men with seven goals and 106 shots, ranking tied for seventh and second overall on the squad, respectively.
The Baxter, Minn., native recorded a career-high three assists on Nov. 8 vs. Lindenwood, his third three-point game of his career and his second in a three-game span after totaling two goals and an assist on Nov. 1 at Yale—his first multi-point contest as a Pioneer after joining the program as a transfer in the offseason.
SENIOR CLASS SETS WINS RECORD: The Pioneers' 2025 senior class is the winningest group in program history after winning its 113th career game on Feb. 7 at Arizona State, surpassing the 2005 seniors' previous record of 112 wins. This year's seniors became the 16th class to win at least 100 games when it accomplished that feat on Nov. 1 at Yale.
Among the 2025 seniors' accomplishments have been three Gold Pan trophies over rival Colorado College, two Penrose Cups as conference regular-season champions, an NCHC Frozen Faceoff title and two national championships.
Last year's seniors (2024) are tied for fifth all-time with 103 victories and registered a .708 winning percentage (103-41-5).
"TENZER" STREAK EXTENDED: Denver won its 20th game of the season on Feb. 7 at Arizona State, extending its "Tenzer" Streak of winning 20 or more games to 23 consecutive full seasons dating back to 2001-02.
The longest active streak in the country, the stretch is named after former DU Director of Hockey Operations David Tenzer, who spent 16 seasons with the program from 2001-02—the start of the streak—until retiring in 2017. The program only played 24 total contests in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF THE PIONEERS: Denver is commemorating 75 years of Pioneer hockey throughout 2024-25 to recognize its diamond jubilee as a program. DU hosted its 75th Anniversary reunion on Nov. 8-9 when Lindenwood visited Magness Arena. Among the activities were pre and post-game receptions for alums, alumni games and family skates and an on-ice recognition of approximately 150 former players in attendance during Saturday's first intermission, with each of the team's NCAA-record 10 championship trophies being presented as well.
The 2024-25 season is actually the 76th in DU hockey history, but the team's 75th anniversary of its first game was in December. The Pioneers' first-ever contests were at home on Dec. 19-20, 1949 against Saskatchewan, with the squad losing 17-0 and 9-1 in the series. Denver's first win was Jan. 27, 1950 at Wyoming (8-7), and the program's first home victory came against that same Wyoming squad on Feb. 18, 1950 (10-6) at the old DU Arena.
TICKETS: Limited tickets for Denver hockey's 75th anniversary in 2024-25 are still available. Click here to purchase and for more information.
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